The New Orleans Saints rookies got on the field in front of the media for the first time on Saturday, and there were a few surprises.
QB Spencer Rattler's arm was not one of them, but the first-round pick Taliese Fuaga lining up at left tackle certainly was.
Scroll below for five takeaways, including the performance of Rattler and Fuaga, after a day of rookie minicamp practice.
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1. SPENCER RATTLER LOOKS THE PART
Everyone wants to talk about Spencer Rattler, so I won't keep you waiting: He very much looks the part. The Saints only had two QBs at this year's rookie minicamp, the other being a veteran in Kellen Mond, who was cut from the roster earlier in the week but stuck around to participate as a tryout player. His presence actually offered a pretty solid control for what we're talking about with Rattler, because between the two it was easy to discern which had starting-caliber traits, and which had a backup ceiling. The best example came late in the practice when both QBs rolled out to the left and targeted a player in the flat. Mond dirted his ball and didn't give the receiver a chance. Rattler lobbed a nice ball into the lilliputian speedster Jermaine Jackson, who would've had room to run if not for losing his footing (something that happened frequently during the time we watched). The ball comes out of his hand with ease and there's no questioning the arm talent. That's not the end all be all of NFL quarterbacking, but it's a good place to start. He'll have plenty of questions to answer in terms of processing and how he handles pressure and adversity. This is the first step on a long path to potentially becoming an NFL starter some day. In a few weeks one of those steps will be to compete with Jake Haener for the backup job. There wasn't a ton Rattler could do to shake confidence this weekend, and in my opinion he avoided those pitfalls. We'll see where things go from here.
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2. WHAT TO MAKE OF FUAGA AT LEFT TACKLE
There weren't a ton of surprises at Saturday's session, but one thing that definitely qualifies is Taliese Fuaga lining up and getting work at left tackle despite spending the majority of his time on the right side at Oregon State. Saints head coach Dennis Allen said the goal is to have players cross trained at multiple positions, and at this point it's simply about seeing if he can do it. That won't prevent folks from reading into the situation as an indictment on Trevor Penning, the former first round pick expected to be heavily in the mix to start at left tackle. That's certainly fair, but it's also fair to point out something obvious: Penning isn't there this weekend. Once we get to OTAs and minicamp, if Fuaga is still taking the lion's share of reps at left tackle, we'll have something to talk about. At this point, it's just good sense to make sure the team knows his range in that regard. Fuaga himself said he's rusty on that side and it's more of a comfortability issue, changing sides of the requires your technique to flip, and it's a much more difficult task than many likely realize. Should Fuaga have to play there this season, this weekend's work could prove invaluable. It's easy to forget that Ryan Ramczyk was asked to play left tackle at points during his rookie season, too. With no pads this weekend, there's only so much you can glean in terms of technique and ability along the OL and DL. So far, so good.
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3. THE NEW KICKOFF IS GOING TO TAKE A LOT OF WORK
We only saw one day of practice this weekend, but it became clear pretty quickly that the new kickoff would be a focal point of this offseason's special teams work, as well it should be. The practice session lasted for a little under 2 hours, and two full sessions were spent working on the kickoff setup on both edges of the field. One thing that's clear is anticipation will be a major element of coverage. You have to hold short of the 40-yard line until the ball is touched, and that means players who can get off the line the fastest will have an advantage. Some players are better at this than others, and it's easy to see who. There will be a lot of emphasis put on this, and I also expect kickoff team offsides calls to be made frequently as players try to get a headstart, particularly early in the season. It's also easy to see why teams with elite returners will have an advantage. I'd reckon there will be at least one player, possibly more, who makes the roster specifically because they thrive on this coverage unit. Stay tuned.
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4. BUB MEANS SHOULD BE FUN TO WATCH
It's easy to understand why Bub Means drew the Saints' attention in the draft, and his personality really shined in his first media session. The former Pitt Panthers was all smiles, as he should be. He reportedly struggled with cramping on Friday, so fitness could be something to watch, but he looks like the exact type of big-bodied receiver this team was in need of with Michael Thomas no longer in the field. He looks smooth and athletic in and out of breaks and he flashed some good ball skills as he connected with Spencer Rattler multiple times. It's too early to say just how much of an impact he might make in his rookie season, but early returns are certainly positive.
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5. SOME EARLY INJURY CONCERNS
I can only give you reports on four of the seven rookie draft picks, because those are the only ones who were on the field Saturday. We knew Kool-Aid McKinstry would be inactive as he works back from a foot injury discovered at the NFL Scouting Combine, though he was at the facility and spoke to the media. The other two were a bit of a surprise, with 5th round linebacker Jaylan Ford and 7th round OT Josiah Ezirim each missing the day with what head coach Dennis Allen referred to as "minor injuries." We'll keep tracking these injuries and there's plenty of offseason left for these young guys to make an impact, but there's no doubt that missing work this weekend is a wasted opportunity. One of the most valuable elements of rookie minicamp is that it's only rookies and there's no shortage of reps to be had. That won't be the case at OTAs or minicamp, so you won't quite get that same look. Regardless, those are guys who are getting in the work that they can, and we'll have to wait til later in the offseason to make some first impressions.